Shaft-brace.



No. 799,970. PATENTED SEPT. 19, 1905. A. G. BRUNSMAN. SHAFT BRAGE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1904.

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SHAFT-BRACE- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1905.

Application filed November 28, 1904:. Serial No. 284.526.

To all whom it may concern.-

, Be it known that I, ANTHONY G. BRUNSMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Oincinnati,county of Hamilton, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shaft-Braces, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to devices for strengthening shafts to. take the strain off of the curved portion of the shaft; and the purpose of the invention is to provide a stronger, less cumbersome, and much more effective brace construction for this portion of the ordinary vehicle shafts than the devices heretofore in use.

It is old to employ a cross-brace extending across the under side of the shafts from the thill-eye to the T-plate and to use a strut from the middle portion of the cross-brace to the bend of the shafts. Difficulty, however, has

i been experienced in the breaking of such cross-braces at the points of attachment, because the elasticity of the wood portion of the shaft is sufficient to throw the bulk of the strain on the brace, so that heretofore without making the cross-brace so large as to be unfit for the purpose such cross-braces have not fully accomplished the desired result. In addition to this it has been customary to secure the strut to the curved portion of the shaft by a clip and clip-plate, an awkward construction liable to accumulate dirt and cumbersome in appearance.

It is to overcome these objections that my invention is particularly directed; and it consists of that novel combination of parts to be hereinafter particularly pointed out and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, with the cross-bar in cross-section, of a shaft with my improvements attached. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line m m of Fig. 1. Fig. i is a perspective View of the flange-nut for securing the strut.

1 is the shaft, and 2 the ordinary cross-bar to which the whiflietree is pivoted. The thilleye 3 for coupling the shafts of the vehicle and the T-plate 4 for strengthening the crossbrace are preferably formed in a single piece, with the intermediate plate 5 curved to fit the under portion of the heel of the shaft, although this curved plate 5 to fit the shafts may be made in a separate piece, and the thill-eye and T-plate may be of the usual independent construction.

6 is the cross-brace, preferably a cylindrical rod with flattened ends 7 8, which ends are securely bolted to the shafts by bolts 9, 10,-

and 11, which pass throughsuitable openings in the reinforcing-plate and the shaft.

10 is a strut extending from the cross-brace to the middle portion ofthe bend of the shaft. This strut is preferably constructed as shown in Fig. 3. A square opening is formed in the cross-brace 6 at this middle portion, the cross brace being widened at this point for this purpose.

11 is a bolt passing through the cross-brace, the reinforcing-plate 5, and the shaft, provided with the sleeve 12 between the plate 5 and the cross-brace 6, the parts being secured together by the nut 13, provided with the wings 14 let. The nut, as shown in Fig. 4, is first tightened, and the wings or flanges are then bent down to closely embrace the shaft, so that an exceedingly neat finish is obtained, and at the same time the nut is securely locked.

Instead of providing a sleeve 12 for the bolt 11 a single bolt may be used with shoulders to fit against the plate 5 and the cross-brace 6, or the nut and the head of the bolt may be reversed with the head atthe outer bend of the shaft, or the bolt may be riveted to the cross-brace instead of being provided with the head to fitup against the under side of the crossbrace.

With this construction, in view of the fact that the reinforcing-plate 5 is employed to fit the inner curve of the shaft, a very strong and rigid structure is obtained, not liable to break under any of the strains to which the shafts may be subjected. In addition to thus bracing the curved portion of the shaftI provide the angle-brace 15 for the angle between the cross-brace 2 and the shaft 1. This angle-brace 15 has bifurcated ends 16 16, which embrace the cross-brace and shaft at top and bottom, to which they are secured by the bolts 17 18 passing through the T-plate and cross-brace and shaft, respectively.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a shaft-brace, the combination with the curved wooden shaft having a metallic reinforcing-plate secured to the under surface of the curved portion, of a cross-brace secured at either end to the shaft across the curved portion, with a strut-bolt extending from the cross-brace to the bend of the shaft through the reinforcing-plate and shaft and a nut for securing same in place.

2. In a shaft-brace, the combination with the curved Wooden shaft having a metallic reinforcing-plate secured to the under surface of the curved portion, of a cross-brace secured at either end to the shaft across the curved portion, with a strut-bolt extending from the cross-brace to the bend of the shaft through the reinforcingplate and shaft and a nut for securing same in place, said nut having wings or flanges to be bent down around the shaft to lock the nut in place.

3. In a shaft-brace, the combination with the curved Wooden shaft having metallic reinforcing-plate secured to the under surface of the curved portion, of a cross-brace secured at either end to the shaft across the curved portion, and a strut connecting the crossbrace and bend of the shaft, said strut comprising a bolt passing through the cross-brace, reinforcing-plate and shaft, a collar surrounding said bolt, between the brace and plate and a nut to secure the parts together.

ANTHONY (Jr. BRUNSMAN.

Witnesses:

R. P. HARGITT, ALFRED M. ALLEN. 

